Chapter 13
Thirteen
D elaney
Epilogue 1 – One year later
The porch is warm again.
Same creak of the old rocking chair under my bare thighs. Same quiet hum in the air. But now it's our chair—the one he made from walnut, the grain curling around the armrests like fingerprints. I watched him carve it. Sand it. Love it into being.
He's splitting logs again. Shirtless. Sweaty. Perfect.
We've been married six months.
There's a cradle inside the cabin. Built by his hands. Waiting. And this morning, I confirmed what his body somehow already knew two months ago—there's life growing inside me. Our baby. His legacy carved into my body the same way he carves beauty into wood.
He catches me watching. Nods. Points.
My heart kicks.
I lift the hem of my dress. No panties. Open, wet and offered.
He swings the axe harder.
Another look. A snap of his fingers.
I unbutton the dress and let my breasts fall out. The sun kisses them. The breeze makes me shiver. My nipples have darkened already, more sensitive than before. His eyes fixate on the subtle changes in my body that only he would notice.
He grins, wild and wicked. "That's my girl. Put it all on display for me."
His gaze drops to my still-flat belly, and his expression softens into something reverent. Later, when we told his brothers the news, they teased him about how quickly he'd "sealed the deal." But I saw the pride in his eyes, the fierce protectiveness that's only grown stronger since the day by the river.
Later, he'll take me apart for this. But for now, I just stay.
Obedient.
Because this isn't about shame.
It's about belonging.
I belong to him.
He drops the logs. Walks to me. Heavy boots. Rough hands. Hunger in his eyes. But there's tenderness there too—a gentle care that's always present now that I carry his child.
"Daddy's home," he says, low and reverent. “And he’s hungry.”
I reach for him, already open as he falls to his knees, and I close my eyes, letting the sun warm my face as his beard brushes my thighs, his tongue starting.
“D”, I start, my fingers tangling in his hair as his tongue continues, “A-D- D-Y! ”
And the mountain sighs around us.